Hiring for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Wooga

At Wooga — the Berlin-based gaming studio which is part of the Playtika family of brands — we believe hiring for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion means hiring people that in principle represent the range of mindsets, approaches, backgrounds that enriches our product and us as people — and as professionals.

Hiring for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion means making sure that every candidate, regardless of any protected characteristic they have, participates in an equal, fair, and safe hiring process.

Celebrating diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our culture.

So, how do we make sure we stick to this when we are hiring?

1. We vigorously coach our Hiring teams

Everyone interviewing at Wooga is invited to a mandatory interview training before meeting our potential future teammates. This session is held by our amazing Talent Acquisition Manager Klaudia, who covers different important aspects of the process, including:

• How to conduct structured interviews: structured interviews are proven to reduce errors and bias in hiring. Situational and open questions are used to make sure we evaluate the candidates for the actual job they did, rather than make (wrong) assumptions about their skills and experience
• Become aware of our unconscious biases. While having biases is natural (that’s how we are built as humans), they can become a serious obstacle when hiring. Being naturally drawn to people more similar to us should not be something factored in when hiring. For this reason, our interviewers are educated about their biases and given some techniques on how to avoid them and make sure to hire the best candidate
• Everyone interested in going into even more detail about unconscious bias, is also invited to attend a specific training on this, held by our D&I consultant Vessy
• Debiasing nudges are built into our automated process, for instance thanks to our Applicant Tracking System reminding everyone involved in the process about their own biases when an interview with a candidate is coming up

2. We interview (and hire) for potential (not background)

As the disclaimer in our job descriptions says:

Please note: Research has shown that some under-represented groups in the gaming industry (eg: women) tend to apply only if they meet every single requirement. Here at Wooga, the desire to learn and the willingness to solve problems are more important to us than your experience on paper. We encourage you to apply even if you do not think that you tick all the boxes — thinking outside of such boxes and embracing the diversity of mindsets and backgrounds is what we believe makes our teams thrive.

Thinking outside of the box and looking for transferable skills — and especially the will to learn, is helping us give everyone the fair chance they deserve. Not having been able to work with certain technologies or with certain projects in the past because you did not have the chance or access, does not mean you should be prevented to do so in your next job at Wooga. Interviewing for potential allows us to consider some demographics who, for many different reasons, being socio-economic or gender-related or else, did not have a chance to develop their skills and education as they wanted to. We want to give everyone a chance to do so with us.

To make sure this is clear for everyone involved in the hiring process, for every candidate reaching the last interview stage, we meet with the entire hiring team in two separate rounds:

1. We first have a context meeting, in which we explain to the interviewers the context they are interviewing in. During this step we aim to clarify expected competencies, seniority, commitment and communication.
2. After all interviews are completed, we have a round up. This step requires prior written evaluation from each individual interviewer and the following evaluation discussion is carefully calibrated to avoid groupthink bias.

3. We diversify and de-bias our interviews and interview panels

Our Talent Acquisition Managers get to know numerous candidates for the initial call — as we mentioned above we hire for potential and we want to give a fair chance to people with different backgrounds.

To avoid being biased while meeting so many people, the first call will always be “blind” — you will meet your Talent Acquisition partner just with audio, to minimize any preconceived opinion that could come from having too many video calls.

Another very important step for us, is to diversify our interview panels as much as possible, whenever possible. Having people from different backgrounds and gender can help make sure we do not rely on our own personal prejudice, but to make the best decision by being as objective as possible.

Additionally, as mentioned before, in our Applicant Tracking System as well as in every step of the hiring process, we make sure we remind everyone involved in the process about their own biases.

4. We focus on addressing and attracting an inclusive audience

How?

In our job description

“Applications also varied by gender depending on the type of task associated with the job. For the job ad with the gender-neutral job task, 79% of the applicants were female, whereas for the job ad associated to the masculine task, only 55% were female.”

We make sure that our job descriptions are not gender coded, and in this way more accessible to everyone. We make sure we avoid phrasings such as “5 years of experience”, as we believe the exact number of years you worked in a job is not necessarily an indicator of having a certain seniority. We believe in having limited number of competencies listed as top skills in the job descriptions, aiming this way for prioritization and transparency

We are committed to becoming the best ally, and we try to make it clear already in our job descriptions:

At Wooga we are committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for everyone who works here or with us, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion (or lack thereof) and game preferences. Be yourself, we like you that way!

When communicating with candidates

We share our pronouns in our email signatures, so that candidates cannot only refer to us with the right ones, but also feel welcome to share theirs, if they wish to do so. As a matter of fact, everyone applying at Wooga is offered the possibility to share their pronouns as well as record their name, so that we can make sure to address them respectfully.

We take accessibility seriously: We encourage everyone invited to an interview at Wooga to let us know about any accommodation they might need during the interview due to their disability or neurodivergence, and we will try to meet any special need to the best of our possibilities.

When engaging with prospects and with the community

We use diverse platforms and job fairs to advertise our jobs and recruit new talent, and thanks to these we are able to engage with communities such as POC, LGBTQI+, women in tech, and other underrepresented communities. — for instance we will participate in Stick & Stones Virtual in November, a virtual career fair entirely dedicated to the LGBTQI+ community!

In internal communications

Our company language is English. Interviews are held in English, and we would never make you feel uncomfortable for not speaking German. If we want to be international and diverse, starting with a shared language is the first step.

Of course, this comes with some expectations — some teams (such as HR, Legal, Office Management), need to have a good knowledge of German to communicate with some key German stakeholders and parties. Nevertheless, we will never exclude you for not being a native speaker — show us your German skills and you are in the game.

5. We support relocation

Applying for a job abroad can be quite scary. That is why we offer relocation assistance, with a relocation allowance as well as the support of an agency that would be helping you out every step of the way.

Supporting relocation helps us get people from all over the world to Wooga, and allows us to benefit from the diversity of mindsets and experiences we love so much.

6. We have inclusive benefits

Offering inclusive benefits is the first step to assure everyone feels welcome and valued when applying for Wooga.

Among other benefits, we currently offer:

• Educational budget and educational leave, also for those who are currently on a parental leave
• Mental health benefits including a partnership with Fuerstenberg Institute as well as access to the Headspace meditation app
• Flexible working schedules
• Temporary part-time arrangements
• German language classes for everyone working at Wooga as well as their significant other
• Possibility of asking for a sabbatical (after 3 years of full-time employment)
• Pension plan that Wooga contributes to
• Work from Home Productivity Budget
• Expertise budget for every discipline within Wooga
• Green Commute Benefit
• Kindergarden Support
• Fair reward system — Our awesome HR team is very serious about this: we must have clear ranges to make sure there is internal compensation transparency, and that everyone joining Wooga is on a fair salary

Want to be part of this amazing process and this inclusive team?

Check out our open positions here — we can’t wait to meet you!

‍